Signaling system



B. L. BOBROFF SIGNALING SYSTEM Oct. 6, 1931 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed July11, 1927 13113.1

W z, 3 RGOM I Tr i WITNESSES I fNVE TOR. BY

ATTORNEY 'Oct'. 6, 1931.

B. L. BOBROFF SIGNALING SYSTEM Filed July 11, 1927 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 mmIn lllulnnnllln. In"

FIGJZ 98 i0 INVENTOR f/ O Q. QQ

ATTORNEY.

WITNESSES" W6 Oct. 6, 1931.

WI TNESSES M & 6500M B. BOBROFF SIGNALING sYsTEn'l Filed July 11, 1927 4Sheets-Sheet 4 A TTORNEY.

' V 1 Patented a. 6, 1931 IBORNETT L. BoBRorr} or" MILWAUKEE,wIscoNsr-Nf SIGNALING SYSTEM 1 Application filed J'uly 11,

' The invention relates'to signaling systems in which anyone of aplurality of signals may,

be transmitted for indication on one or more 7 I responsive devices, andis more particularly intended for use in hospitals, sanitariums, Iand'other' institutions I i An object of the invention is to provide'asignaling system for'hospitals, s'anitariums,

V "and the like, including an annunciator of the 1 answeinbacktype anda-plurality of re- V ""sponsive means controlled by the annunciator todisplay the same confirmation signal at different locations, and amore'specific object is to constitute one of said responsive'meansl anindicator placed at the 'exteriorof each room from which the signalistransmitted whereby the needs of theoccupant of the roomp naybe madeknown to nurses or attendants passing'the roonnthus affording anopportunity forprompter: service'to the patient'and' minimizing'trips tothe main annunciator board.

" Another object of the invention is to provide sucha system with amotor-driven anlts'nunciator including a rotary member and atransmission of simple and compact construction to effecttheintermittent rotation of said membe-r to indicating and blank positions,said transmission being of such :3 character as to accurately effect theintermittent operation of the rotary member even though the, successiveincrements ofrotation "of said member are comparatively small.

" A Manes object is to provide an annun- -:ciator "of this characterv inwhichthe rotary member is driven by a gear 'co-acting with detentmeanscapable of universal' operation f various gears havinga different numberxofteeth.

A furtherobject isito provide an annunciatorlincluding'anIelectricdriving motor and means for simplyjbut'accuratelylocating the imrtcr'inits .operative position.

A further objectis tojprovide the motor with an insulatingend fra'me, orplaterforQ facilitating thejinsuiatioii of the brush gear 7andterminals. f i A further "obj ec'tis m-pr'ovidean annuneL gar-o1-including a rotary drum lot insulating i material, prei'erablya phenoliccondensation A further object is to effect improvement 7 andsimplification of the rotary drum. 4

A further'object isto perfect details of construction of the indicatingdevice for the exterior of each room. I f A further object is to providea signaling" system including a push-button holder equipped withconfirmation responsive elements to apprise anoperator of the existenceof the proper signal at the annunciator, each A responsive elementcomprising an electric lamp which illuminates otherwise invisible,indicia including a pictorial representation of the signal for theconvenience of illiterates.

A further, object on the signaling system disclosed in my coannunciatorpending application entitled Hospital sigis to effect improvements ingconstructional details and rendering the annunciator units more compact.I The invention further consists of the 'sev eral features hereinafterset forth and more.v particularly defined b" the annexed claims. In theaccompanying drawings,

Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic illustration-of a "hospital signaling systemembodying the invention; Fig. 2 is a top plan view of one of theannunciator units;

Fig. 3 is a front elevation thereof;

Fig.4 is a longitudinal sectional elevation of the annunciator unittaken on the linear-4,

of'Fig. 2.;

Fig. 5 is a sectional elevation taken on the line 5-5 of Fig. 2; V l

Fig. 6' is a sectional elevation taken on the line 6'6'Of Fig. 2; p g a7 Fig.7 is a side elevation'o f the'annunciator 'unit'; 0

Fig. 8 is a plan view, partly in section, of a push-button holder;

Fig. 9 is alongitudinal sectional view of the push bu'tton holder;

Fig. lOis an endview of the push-hutton holder; the capfthei'eofbeingremoved and 1pa rts beinghroken eway and shoWn'in section;

;Fig. :11 is edge-heel sectional VlGW' of e cable plug and itsassociated receptacle;

" FigJ-12fislen elevation of wroom or door Way indicator takenton th'e'line -13 13 "of t Fig; 13 is 'e"seetionelfelevation ofthedooi i In these:dra ingsQthe.ndnieml 15- lindi-"i Fig. :14

-'ouit connections' ofzonel'ennunciator unit.

'units adaptedfon hospitaluse,;there,heing E there is' mor'e than onebed in'e room. Thes t a centralopenlng 1n the push-button .holde onejfoleach room or one for'each bed Where I annunciatoifiunitsflareplaced-inoneor'niore Tease "'mayi be. I If desired, the fronts plates lo'fseveral annimoiator units meyi-he integral V 1y formed of-vesinglepieceofnete rial ngA 5 signal .lemp 17*.is visible, through the front 1 tierset lai nursels'i 'stetion and each includes 1 2; 'fIiOIItfplate l6'whichis; designated; with a room nuniber oriwithe 'bed number, as the plateof eeohhnnuncietoi unit and iname #pletes lS ,oarriedon can;intermittently rotates e; able anminciatorj drujn 19; as hereinafter de;

:1 scribed; are successively visible through an 4 g Each anunciatonu-nit isqconnectedby-fecable 21-]W-ith anputlet box "22 intheWa-Il l' 7 t by the engegementof spring fingersr4l5 withiifront'plate, or close tothe bed so designated, gcontect-ribs 46 on theennunciatordrum 19 Anjettechment plug 28 iseda'ptedto fit'into suitablereoeptaole 1 24 provided; fol: it in r. the outlet box 22 toestablishConnections be tween the various con'duetors'ofthe-cable 21V endvseveral corresponding conductors in a e l cl g. e ei s o j i ee l. rill j efi the enve ene t ll t e f :T e 9 t flet n atie ie rjti9e opening20inthe front platetosi'gna'l the I t w v 7 I I "mg-leIn S- SOits;respectivefconductor' var-ions needsofi'the patient;

f the" "room desighated on the 'a nhuncietor I ,flexihle.. extension-jcable 25 connected, to the I ;te'r1'nina1sof the;attec hment plug; ,Theet-l wtachlnent iilug 23, shown "detail in Fig, 1:l','is so;constructed; that'it 'will enter the v vieceptacle 24 inonly the oh'eposition inwhich 9 the propel.Connections-are established; 1 i

V A lpush button (holder 26 i-jprefembly in}, :th form; of ay-peatpush-hntton with en en-' 1 ;is attached to" thef'free end otithee xtthereol in register with thej slotsend 'c onel is a 'longitii'dinalsectional view of a mod fied form of, ennuncle'ton drum and F1g.1 15 1sa schemetic'dlegreni of the 011"- a, met-elf strap 40, which etur fo thlam s,

of the pnsh-bhtton holder providediivith e inarginelrebbet 32 to receivethe edgesol' insulating material; preferably, 1 aphenolic condensationproduchiotwhich the push-hut Tton ho1de1fi;-'is: formed. fiEaohf oirlthe' transve se slots, 29 communicates With a circular opening 36' (itthe end, of the holder adjacent forni e'ceptacles" for the indicatinglamps 30', the Contact strips '87being securedfto the'flet end "of theholder by means of screws the cep 33,{szind lamp' cont'aot stripsBZextend along opposlte'sid'es ofeach open'mgto 38 threaded in bushingsoiystuds39 embedded in the holden; In} the p 'es'entinstance one set ofContact strips; is connected together forms: a common end of theoiiblef2 5i.pesses'thi'ougih The lree ofthe leinp s; 30 While" otheroonduc-to'r sA2 eonneet the individual" lamps, and; a conducetorel3ftogethei with at oont'imietion of the.

cohductorg, 41;passing, through-{7a, {tubular 1-, o'pening-44 in'ithe;push-button holder to conneet With-the p"dsh bntton* 28'; The; common.conductor fll, thus constitutes eicom non i eturn fiopthepushi-bgittonc1rcuites Well as for thegzlemp citcuits, Eachofihe indicat- 42 311d the{Common eturnconductoi 41 forms a separete'hghting c rcuit controlledplates are preferablvonly translucentso that the ord des1gnat1ons-,esWelles theco r j spondng' pictor al designations, contained:

therebeneath- Will only; be in evidenoeivvhen illuminated by the?indicating lglmpsggoq In the present instance theyord desig etions Q N ST- Jsituctioh, which hasiint'egrelly forIned' theie secured: in the,tandandQ'Ehv a se v scr w. '51] endiextends-yplarellel tothe; forvvaedge of v e wei e et rde mllh h P QfI. ably termed f a phe o e- Iati'on' product", is 'pi'o videdgvvith e h i-lo 52 a. thrustiehgeg'ementWith Water; etc,,* a1fe eccompeniedfby npietu ola1111138,};glassfotwater, etc.

, c e. e ine cable 25 endcatr'ie's a push' butto or-circuit.

1 l B QS Hitsne rs epe e d firmw 1 slots 29 are formed throughthdfiet.portion -g27iof the push-b ttonholder tofieceiveindi-V '1 catingrlemps30 therein, the slots 'eov-y .ered jonppposite sides hygglelssvplatesfilhev iri gathe' vverious needs of the patient hase plate.48feonveniently' of ahea -con; I

1 vided win; an outstanding disk-shaped "flange 53, which, together withradial reengforcingribs 54, supports a concentric cylindrical shellpreferably having'a polygonal exterior and provided with shallowdovejtailed or'undercut slots 56'removably receiv- 1 yfingthenameplates-1'8. tubular sleeve 57 {coaxial with ith'efhub 52 projects fromthe flange 53 in a direction-away from the hub and has embedded'thereininserts forming fthe'radial contact ribs46 hereinbefore noted,

as seen in Figsi i andfi} 4 The free end of the l I sleeve57 hasdiametrically secured therein a bar 58, which 'is received intothediametrically slotted end of a driving shaft 59 concentricwiththe'bearingpin 50and restraining the drum 19 against axial displacementThe base plate48 is recessed to receive the "lower portion of theannunciator drum in order to reduceftheheight of the unitas much aspossible and thereby permit 8 compact tiering of a group ofunits.

I Inthemodified form of'annunciator drumsh'ownfin'Fig. 14 the insertsforming the separate radial contact ribs 46 are replaced by a metalsleeve 60 pressed onto the sleeve. portion 57 of the drum an d carryingintegral contact ribs 46, anintegral interior key 61 f being formed onthe sleeve 60 to enter a keyway 62in the sleeve portion 57 of the drumfor properly locating thecontact ribs 46' with respect to the nameplates '18 on the drum.

' f. v The sprin'g' contact fingers 45 hereinbefore noted, are mountedin. the transversely grooved upper surface of an insulating block 63,which is secured to the upper face of the base plate behind theannunciator drum by means of screws 64. A strip 6510f insulatinglmaterial is secured to the upper face of the insulating block 63Z'byscrews 66 and serves to 'clamp the contactfingers 45 in place. I The 7each annunciator unit is provided in its upper f' lsurfa-ce with'-aparallel sided-channel 70,

.sprin'gi, contact fingers are suitably connected to several of a groupof terminal screws 67 which are mounted in an insulating plate68asecured at one side of the base plate by screws 69,.the base platebeing cut away beneath the screws for clearance, as seen in Fig. 7 L

V The rear 'portio'njof the base plate 48 of whichreceivesthereinagainst lateral dis- 7 placement a small electric motor 71 includi i ing a laminated field name 72 to whichend plates or frames 7.3 andf741are secured by screws 75, spacers/1'6 being interposed between theend plates 'and the field frame.

- 'The'motoris held iii-place in the channel i H .by screw77-clamping1the base plate/48 to; the field frame 72,'or, by hold-downclips 78.

G9 engaging the spacers or both although the use of the. screw p77 alonesufficient. A

v motor armature 79' hasits shaft journaledjin T i the. end plates 7 3and 7 4, 'one end of the shaft i' proj ecting-from the end plate 57 4and being provided with a helical pinion 80', the teeth 'of which may beformed integrally with the 1 The motor end plate 7 3 is of insulatingmaterial, preferably a phenolic con- 7 densatlon product, and hasmounted therein brush holders 81 and terminal screws 82. The use ofsuitable insulating material for this purpose is Very advantageous in asmall motor as it eliminates the use. of several insulatingbushings andwashers and is inexpensive to manufacture.

I The base plate 48 of the annunciator unit has formed thereont-hreeupstanding walls defining part of a rectangular lubricant-receivingtransmission casing 83, a fourth side of the casing being formed by aremovable plate .84 secured in place by screws 85, and

shaft 91 journaled in the end plate 84 and the opposite wall of thetransmission casing. The shaft 91 also carries a one-toothed pinion orarm 92, which meshes with a gear 93 mounted on the driving shaft 59forthe annunciator drum, the shaft- 59 also being journaled in the endplate 84 and. the opposite wall of the transmission casing. A resilientdetent arm 94 is secured by a screw 95 in one end wall of thetransmission casing and'has 'itsfree end engageable in the notchesbetween'the te'eth of the gear 93m retain the gear against rotation inthe intervals between successive impulses imparted to the gear bytheone-toothed pinion 92. -The amount of entrance of the tooth on thepinion 92 into the gear 93 is so selected that the gear 93 with itscoaxial annunciator drum 'will be turned through the are desired, suchare being of a revolution in the present instance. In case a greaternumber of designations is-desired on the annunciator drum,

this can be done by substituting another gear 93 -having the propernumber of teeth, without other changes in the transmission, and it ispossible by means of this construction to I accurately provide forrelatively small increments of rotation. I

An' indicating device 96 is placed at the erterior of each room to'bevisible along the corridor on which the room opens, and this deviceisfpreferably placed directly above the-door of theroom although anyother adfjaclent location maybe used. The indicatin device 96 comprisescasingsections97 and 98 assembledtogether into a ring-shaped casing byscrews 99 in one of the casing sections entering metal inserts 100 inthe other casing section, the'casing sections [being preferably formedof a phenolic condensation product.

V The sectini97is provided with an ex miss shouldered; and-threadedboss" 101,

fiwhieh enters they cover of a junctionbox 102, "against, which-ibisheld by alock nut 103.

A jverticalf'b idge.onsb'ar zlO is formed: ingtegna'l with the insulatng material of the casm ingjisectiongiand' isjreenforced hy aweb. 105

'dis vosed. at one side :otthe casin section.

The bridge or has 1104 is apertu' ed at intervals-to receive spaced lampsockets" 106 held ;-in"placebyterminal scr'eWslO'? and receiving;elongatedhorizontaljelectric 121111 108; The Y 1 a la'mpsg lOSnreseparated; from jeach otherhy compartmentformin'g partiti ons 109'formed integrally with, the casing sections and; interlocking at"theiifadjacent ends A common"; v

iplaythezsignal.

i terminalstrip,110 oonnectstheterminal and 'attach1ngsorevvs, 1{)7 ofthe sockets 6' and .iis,connected to Yone of seriesojfterminalnectionsfoi" the respective sockets. The in I neit edgesportionsfio tthecasing sections 97 f andQSjare piiovidedwith registering dove- -tf'ailedon undercut recesses- 111 2 at opposite' screws-111; fol-med in the web105, the other terminal SKEW/S1111 forming individual-consides toi"eceive circulan transparent 01 V .itranslucentj glass light 113, eachv otgwhieh has formed onits inner taeethedes gnations Nurse;VVater,'etc.,ico responding to sim 1 1941" des gnat ons on theannunciatoi drum: 19 n and the push button,holder 26., Theseidesl i Smay c n ntlyliormed on a se' i ews ill'l of the indicating d'et ieeforming convenient plac'e at which to effect the;

1 ;para llel conneotion. Instead of conn'ecting' .theseflfampsinpai'allel it willjhe ob'vious that V 4 a "ciator front plate- 16.'fAtgthe'fsame .tii'ne the a series 'ccnn'ectionacouldbe employed as: an

-' jalternative.

1 a I i-the scheinaticwiring diagi-anit o f' Figirl fi a battery115"onothersource of current supply has 'one'terminal-connected with thecoinnon return Wire I41 andjthe other terminal connected by acondu'ctor116-with'onevof the -yspring'contaot' fingers l5 and a conductor 117 Awith one terminal ofth ts rnlina-l of; the moto'i I .nv ii'ef froinpush-hutton 28. and another push-button 118in -pa1'alleltherewith, the

V. latter-of which is cam'ied bjz'the all 130x22 .7; holder; 1 Besidesthose;'oftheicontajct t nge 5 i which flare connected- -to each, indcating i amfiofin thepush-huttonilioldei f26andindii eating device 96;there; areothen. Contact, fin ign'al" circuits ito diffeij gefi'fqrfe-11in "61 1 Parts of t b: its); a e, he?

" n lja centthe -bed'se ved ytlie'* p-ush button Amotoi Theotler sconnected with the V These; auxiliary circuits are desiredfto he closedin. each signaling position of the anmay include theannunciatoifsigilallamp 17 itheewall box lamp 119" in the wall 100K122, a

lamp 120 infthe'sunerintendentsloflice and V V 8 one 01f more other"lanipsflQl in suppl room, or" wherevei else it; is; desi edfto T 7 Inorder to insufeiatteiitionjto pa,-

t'ient when he is so weak that he islonly able to niomentarilydepressthepush-hutton 28 in: the push button'fholder, auxiliary contact'1'ibs46 areinterposed between th e' other con tact ribs in ordertojestabl'ishz a circuit for e f ti g a v- Nurse* indication alternatelywith each of'theiother signals. -q1l1ef;blank places between theycontact Iribs are'a-oco d ingly relatively short and -seVei aIQNurseindications ma vbe obtained: dui inga single "rotation of the annuneatordrum; thus avoiddrum to efi'ect such indicationI wing thenecessityfor'completelyarotating the n When the: patient desires; attention hepresses the push-button 28 in the, push-button holder 26,1Whih serves toestablish a motor cii cuitinc'luding the battery 115, the conductor 117,annunciator motor 71; conductor 4L3, push-button 28andconductoii411,b'ackito the v battfjrl ;Th'e' motor 1;i s,the'reuponst rted inoperation,whichythrough the transmis i Sign gearing? in [thetransmission" casing 83;

display through the opening 20in the" annunserves to etfect thefislofwintermittent rota I tionof the annun'eiat'or dru nf'l9to bring the nameplates 18 successively 'in' position for rotation offthe druin' causesthe-operation of the ContactfingenQsitches controlling the circuitsthfoughthe indicating'lan'ips 3 0 and 108i sucha W'aythat circuits .Willbe closed through these lannpsgto illuniinateithe name ontheipllsh-bjlttml holder 26 and indicating eitie i s spond n tq "thflame he th us oee n int e j i m fi' b lt -plate .1flAt-tlie same tiin'eeach jindi'catorjsig- Y .nal isilluminatedthe signaljla s 17, 119, 120an 2. "ar l illuminated; as ere nb ieii O y u" The lighted indicatinglamp BOin'Ithe-pUsh;

huttonholderl indicates to th atient the signal which he has caused tohe displayed on t' l 'annu tii 1 indi li e e .aiidif that is notjth it I,7 givenheiiiere'ly hold'stlie push-hutton 28 deng 'Wheieitis'desiredgpressed to light, succssivelanips' until the deg'nal "been;glyen; sii'edlsi'gnali is indicated He; then reinov essjlao signaJdesiid to be, I

I ihis finger from thepush-button, thusopen "ing the motor circuitandallowing the annunciator drumto remain,inthat indicating position untilthe nurse-arrives at the, patients bedsideand pressesthe resetting but-'ton.118 to restore the annunciatordruin to the succeeding blankposition where no in'dieating lamp circuits are closed: The blankposition'is indicated to'the nurse assoon as the lamp 119 in the wallb0-x'22 becomes exdevice, may have theirconductor wires connected tothesame 1 contact finger 455. The

' V supply room light and other lights 121 require connection toseparate contact fingers since they are preferably connected" in commonenabled to signal at once'his desires without necessitating the delayincident to requirmg with allthe instruments on the floor.

By means of this invention thepatient is the nurse to visit the bedsideof the patient 1 signal system is reset by the nurse at the bed sideafter'responding tothe'signal. The pa{ in order to learn what iswanted.Furthermore, the signal. as given remains 1111131]. the

. tient knows just What signal he has given be- If he desires to cancela signal or to change itafter it has been g1ven,-1t'1s only necessarycause of the illumination ofthe indicating lamp in the push-buttonholder and it 1s-not necessary'for him to learn a code of signals.

for him to press the push-button '28 again and V so [start themotor-driven annunciator drum inoperation until the'succeedmg blankpos1- tion is reached or the desired signal is indi eated. A patient inweakened condition may signal for a nurse by depressingthepushbutton'for a comparatively short period of signals.

v -With the provision'of the corridor inditimesince suchindication maybe eflected intermediatelybetweeneach pair of the other I eating device96 the indicating function of the annunciator drum 19 becomes ofsecondary importance, except for purposes of supervision, since thenurses on. duty need only observe the corridor lights outside of therespective rooms to learnthe needs of the patients. This feature makesitunnecessary to visit the main annunciator board at the nurses station,thus saving many steps and ice to the patient.

The construction of the push-button holder affording an opportunity forprompt servis such that the signal indications may be ex-- amined fromeither side thereof and the V words maybeso arranged that they are up- Iright when either face of'the push-button holder is turned to the frontwhile the device is held in the same hand, or so that one face readscorrectly when the device is held in one hand, and-theotherfacexwhen thedevice is held innthe'v other hand;

other applications when needs onwants are to be signaled. 1

hatI-r claim as new and-desire tosecure byL'etter's Patent is: 4

1; In a signaling. system, the combination of asignal rotor formedof-molded insulating materiah and contact elements -mounted "on" sa1drotor, and having axially spaced contact portions. 1

2.: In: a? signaling system, the combination of a signal rotor formedofmolded insulating material, and contact elements embedded in said rotorthe successive angularly spaced contact elements having axially spacedcon-,

tact portions. 7

3. In a signaling system, the combination of a signal rotor formed ofmolded insulating material, and contact ribs embedded longitudinally insaid rotor and having axially spaced contact portions.

4. In a signaling system, the combination of asignal rotor formed ofmolded insulating material, and exteriorly notched contact stripsembedded longitudinally in said r0tor.

5. In a signaling system,the' combination of a signal rotor formed ofmolded insulating material, and a contact-rib-carrying sleeve mounted onan end portion of said rotor. I -6. A drum for signaling systems,comprising an apertured bearing hub and a contactcarrying sleeve formedin tandem coaxial relation, an integral disk-like flange projectingoutwardly from the intermediate part of said hub-and-sleeve assembly,and an annunciator shell formed integral With said flange toconcentrically surround said hub portion.

7. A drum for signaling systems, comprising an apertured bearing hub anda contactcarrying sleeve formed in tandem coaxial relation, an integraldisk-like flange projecting outwardly from the intermediate part of saidliub-and-sleeve assembly, an annunciator shell formed integral With saidflange to concentrically surround said hub portion, and radialreenforcing arms integrally connect ing said hub and shell.

8. A drum for signaling systems, compris ing a rotary member including acontactcarrying sleeve portion and a driving bar diametrically securedin said sleeve portion in relatively fixed relation.

9. A drum for signaling systems, comprising a rotary member including acontact-carrying sleeve portion of insulating material and a driving bardiametrically secured in said sleeve portion in relatively fixed em-

